


Midnight Find

by NetflixQueen



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Balinor (Mentioned) - Freeform, Dragonlord Merlin, Gen, Happy Ending, Kilgarrah (mentioned), Magic Revealed, Probably ooc, Wingfic, Yikes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 08:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13096569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NetflixQueen/pseuds/NetflixQueen
Summary: Gwaine and Arthur are worried about Merlin and decide to follow him on a midnight trip.Set between S3 and S4.





	Midnight Find

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is my first ever fic and it kind of sucks but I figured I would post it anyways. Please let me know what you think!

Wings. Great, big scaly things. If Arthur hadn’t seen them sprout from Merlin’s back just seconds ago, he wouldn’t have believed his eyes. Arthur never meant to spy on Merlin, what his servant did in his own time was none of his business. Arthur only followed him this night out of concern. Merlin had seemed distracted all week, and especially that day. He also seemed to be in pain, though he hid it well when he knew his friends were watching. The king found out very early on in his Merlin Watch, that he was not the only one concerned about Merlin. As he followed Merlin into the forest he ran into everyone’s favorite drunk— quite literally ran into. For being the “best knights in the realm” they somehow managed not to see each other till they were falling over one another. 

“What are you doing here?!” hissed Arthur, worried that he’d lose Merlin’s trail. 

“I should be asking you the same thing, Princess,” replied Gwaine with a smirk. 

“I asked you first,” snipped Arthur, who was really not in the mood for this back and forth. 

“And I asked second,” snarked Gwaine, “but if you must know, I’m tailing Merlin. Something is up with him,”

“Seems we are on the same mission then,” answered Arthur, “we had better catch up to him before he gets too far,” and with that Arthur began his trek through the forest again, this time with Gwaine close behind. Both king and knight wore similar expressions upon their faces, both showing concern, as well as confusion, as they followed Merlin.  
Arthur raised his hand, motioning for Gwaine to pause. Merlin had stopped back-to in the middle of a clearing and had begun to remove his jacket and neckerchief. Gwaine and Arthur exchanged very confused glances then returned their eyes to the manservant. Said manservant was now pulling his shirt over his head, revealing pale skin and multiple scars. The most concerning scars were two near-identical vertical slits. They looked like they could have been done with a dagger, but who would do that to Merlin? As Arthur and Gwaine watched Merlin, the warlock released a breath and in the blink of an eye the space behind his back was filled with red. Gwaine’s eyes widened as Arthur sucked in a quiet, surprised gasp. Merlin had wings. Actual wings, resembling a dragon’s. As Merlin stretched his wings in the clearing, Arthur and Gwaine exchanged startled looks.

“What the actual hell?” whispered Gwaine, and Arthur had to agree.

“I take it you didn’t know either?” replied Arthur with a nod towards the clearing. 

“Not one bit,” chuckled Gwaine, “makes some sense though, doesn’t it Princess?” Again Arthur had to agree with Gwaine- excluding the wings, all this agreeing would have been the most troubling part of Arthur’s night. 

“I always knew there was something different about him,” said Arthur. 

“Well, I think it’s time we ask our friend some questions about his new found appendages,” Gwaine said as he left the cover of the bushes. 

“Gwaine!” Arthur whisper-yelled, following the long haired knight. 

“Nice night for a walk, right Merls?” said Gwaine, getting the warlock’s attention. Arthur would have laughed at the look of pure shock on Merlin’s face, if not for the fear he could also see in his friend’s eyes. 

“G-gwaine?” Merlin stuttered trying to hide his massive wings, “and Arthur? What are you two doing out here?” 

“Oh, it just seemed like a nice night for a stroll Merlin,” Arthur said, sarcastically, “what do you think we are doing here? We followed you here from the city, you’ve been acting strange all week and we were worr— curious as to why,” Arthur finished, almost revealing his concern for his manservant. 

“I think you have a bit of explaining to do, my friend,” Gwaine added, nodding towards the attachments on Merlin’s back. 

“Where do I begin?” Merlin asked feigning calmness, as he peered nervously at his king. 

“At the beginning, Merlin,” drawled Arthur. 

“O-okay,” said Merlin, “but you may want to settle in, it’s quite the story,”  
After the three men had settled around a small fire, Merlin began his tale, starting from his childhood in Ealdor. 

“Wait, but how did your mother hide your wings?” interjected Gwaine.  
“She didn’t have to,” replied Merlin, “they only developed after I lost my father,”

“But you said you never met your father?” questioned Arthur. 

Merlin looked pained as he said, “Do you remember when we went in search of the dragonlord, Balinor?” Arthur nodded, how could he forget the man? “Before we left to find him Gaius revealed something to me, he- Balinor is my-“ Merlin choked out, looking towards the ground, “During the Great Purge, Balinor fled Camelot with Gaius’ help, he found refuge in Ealdor. With my mother.” 

“Merlin, are you saying that the dragonlord was your father?” asked Gwaine. 

“Oh gods,” gasped Arthur, “I- I told you no man was worth your tears, Merlin I’m so sorry,” 

“Please don’t apologize,” the young warlock said, “you didn’t know. I just wish I could have had more time with him, to learn what it means to be a dragonlord,”

“You’re a dragonlord, too?” questioned Gwaine.

“It is a power I received along with my wings after my father passed,” Merlin said with pride, “now I am the last of my kind,” 

“Much good a dragonlord would do without any dragons,” chuckled Arthur.

Merlin blanched, “About that...” 

“Merlin, I thought I killed the Great Dragon?” 

“The thing is...”

“Merlin!”

“Kilgarrah is the last of his kind, as I am mine, I couldn’t let him die!” said Merlin. 

“Just tell me it is gone,” said Arthur, massaging his temples. 

“He is free to roam, but I have commanded him to stay away from Camelot and only to return when I call,”

“I- I think I can live with that,” Arthur sighed. 

“Well, this has been a nice chat, but if we don’t head back now, I won’t make it to the tavern,” interjected Gwaine. 

“I don’t think I’ll be heading back with you,” said Merlin, “my entire existence is technically illegal in Camelot,” 

“Well, I guess it’s time to change the law,” said Arthur thoughtfully.

“What?!” yelled Merlin, “you- you’d change the law?!”

“I think you can see, Merlin, that I am not my father, and I’ve been thinking of changing the law for sometime now,” replied Arthur, “and now I’ve got the final push towards legalizing magic,” suddenly Arthur was engulfed in a cocoon of Merlin’s wings and arms.

“Thank you, Arthur!” cried Merlin.

“Also, Merlin, you’re fired.” said Arthur.

“Wait what?” replied Merlin, releasing Arthur and stepping back. 

“Well, I can’t have a lord working as my servant now can I?” 

“Well, I think I’ve found another decent noble,” said Gwaine, slinging his arm over Merlin’s shoulder, steering him towards his pile of clothes, “now get dressed, Merls, me, you, and Princess are getting drinks to celebrate, first rounds on me!” laughed Gwaine, already heading back towards the city, and more importantly back towards the tavern.

“Thank you, Arthur,” said Merlin, now with Gwaine out of earshot. 

“Don’t mention it, now hurry up, this whole trip has made me thirsty,” replied Arthur, heading towards Camelot with Merlin trotting along behind him. 

“That worked out much better than I expected,” thought Merlin, still a little dazed, but feeling freer now that he wasn’t hiding.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m not too happy with this ending but thanks for reading anyways!


End file.
